Members Raskolnikovs axe Posted May 30, 2007 Members Share Posted May 30, 2007 hey i just picked up a danelectro fab tone distortion. it's ok, not great, but when the gain knob is ALL the way down it's still much, much more distorted than i'd ever like it to be. as you turn it up, it just feeds back more, doesn't really change the tone. is there some sort of internal adjustment that could be out of whack or does this pedal just run that way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members streamliner Posted May 30, 2007 Members Share Posted May 30, 2007 Yeah, I don't know what they were thinking when they did this pedal... I mean, Dano makes some great sounding pedals, but this one is probably the worst one. A name like "Fab Tone" suggests good things, whereas this is not a good thing IMHO... I bet there is a way to tame it, though...google it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members streamliner Posted May 30, 2007 Members Share Posted May 30, 2007 http://www.geocities.com/diygescorp/danelectrofabtone.gif Here's a semi-legible schematic. At the top right of the schematic you'll see the distortion subcircuit. Looks like changing the 470 ohm resistor at the inverting input of the distortion op-amp to something much higher would tame the distortion, considerably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members waveman Posted May 30, 2007 Members Share Posted May 30, 2007 I think it was meant to be a high gain pedal...like the the Digitech Grunge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members houseofglass21 Posted May 31, 2007 Members Share Posted May 31, 2007 The Fab Tone has a {censored}-ton of gain, but that's what I like about it. It's meant to be a heavy sound. Don't know why it gets a bad rep other than people expecting it to do something other than what it does. Sounds much better than the Metal Zone and the like IMO when you run it thru a tube amp. I keep the gain set at about 9:00. It pretty much starts out with a ton, the Fab knob just increases the saturation/sustain. It gets great Mogwai/Mono/Explosions in the Sky/HUM type heavy tones, or Pumpkiny tones a'la MCIS...for me anyways I prefer it with humbuckers btw, it's a bit raspy with single coils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pandadan Posted May 31, 2007 Members Share Posted May 31, 2007 I think it was meant to be a high gain pedal...like the the Digitech Grunge... I recall that it is almost the same circuit as the Grunge. Some different component values. I had one. Great fun in front of certain amps, terrible in front of others. It's very much an "on" or "off" pedal. The controls are fairly redundant. My main issue was that even though it was loud and very very very aggressive, it sits your guitar back in the mix when engaged. Not at all cutting. That's why I sold it in the end. Impractical for live use. There are some mods floating around for it to make it more versatile tho as I recall...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sir poopie, M.D. Posted May 31, 2007 Members Share Posted May 31, 2007 dude i loved that pedal!!! brewtal gain:rawk: :rawk: :rawk: :rawk: :rawk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tap Nanoon Posted August 13, 2009 Members Share Posted August 13, 2009 http://www.geocities.com/diygescorp/danelectrofabtone.gifHere's a semi-legible schematic. At the top right of the schematic you'll see the distortion subcircuit. Looks like changing the 470 ohm resistor at the inverting input of the distortion op-amp to something much higher would tame the distortion, considerably. I tried what this guy said above, (replacing the resistor at C14) but it really didn't have the level of impact I was looking for. Instead I substituted the resister with a 500K pot. I drilled a hole in the box and I now have a real gain control for my Fab Tone. I don't want to get too excited, but I think this pedal might actually be usable now. With the new knob cranked out, it actually has even more gain than it did before (uncomfortable amounts), but with it dialed back, there is actually a pretty decently level of drive. I am by no means an electrician (this is only my second mod) so this may end up causing my pedal to spontaneously combust, but it seems to be working pretty well so far. I took some before and after footage which I'll post on youtube and add a link later if people are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members space cred Posted August 13, 2009 Members Share Posted August 13, 2009 I tried what this guy said above, (replacing the resistor at C14) but it really didn't have the level of impact I was looking for. Instead I substituted the resister with a 500K pot. I drilled a hole in the box and I now have a real gain control for my Fab Tone. I don't want to get too excited, but I think this pedal might actually be usable now. With the new knob cranked out, it actually has even more gain than it did before (uncomfortable amounts), but with it dialed back, there is actually a pretty decently level of drive. I am by no means an electrician (this is only my second mod) so this may end up causing my pedal to spontaneously combust, but it seems to be working pretty well so far. I took some before and after footage which I'll post on youtube and add a link later if people are interested. absolutely interested! sounds very cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tap Nanoon Posted August 14, 2009 Members Share Posted August 14, 2009 Here's a link to a video of my fab tone after the mod: Here it is before the mod for comparison: All I did was replace the resistor at C14 with a 500K pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rogueweez Posted August 14, 2009 Members Share Posted August 14, 2009 The Fab Tone is perfect as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewisb21 Posted August 14, 2009 Members Share Posted August 14, 2009 what is the nintendo controller pedal on your board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members p8283 Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 hey i just picked up a danelectro fab tone distortion. it's ok, not great, but when the gain knob is ALL the way down it's still much, much more distorted than i'd ever like it to be. as you turn it up, it just feeds back more, doesn't really change the tone. is there some sort of internal adjustment that could be out of whack or does this pedal just run that way? The best adjustment that anyone can make to a Danelectro pedal is to rear back and fling it directly into the concrete:blah: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monty4 Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 The Fab Tone is perfect as it is. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members matt the rat Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 Goddamn I want a fab tone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grayeyes777 Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 The best adjustment that anyone can make to a Danelectro pedal is to rear back and fling it directly into the concrete:blah: HAHA! Not that i second this exactly but i wasn't really into either tone on the vids above. sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orangesix Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 i think that sound is the fabtone's charm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wennnz Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 So, now I'm curious, what IS that Nintendo controller on your board, Tap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Snail_killer Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 I has two gain stages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IamBurnout Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 I tried what this guy said above, (replacing the resistor at C14) but it really didn't have the level of impact I was looking for. Instead I substituted the resister with a 500K pot. I drilled a hole in the box and I now have a real gain control for my Fab Tone. I don't want to get too excited, but I think this pedal might actually be usable now. With the new knob cranked out, it actually has even more gain than it did before (uncomfortable amounts), but with it dialed back, there is actually a pretty decently level of drive. I am by no means an electrician (this is only my second mod) so this may end up causing my pedal to spontaneously combust, but it seems to be working pretty well so far. I took some before and after footage which I'll post on youtube and add a link later if people are interested. D4 and D5 are the clipping diodes. Replacing them with leds will lower the gain. Removing them completely might also achieve the desired result. Socket them for experimenting without lifting traces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wennnz Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 I've never played the fab tone, but if it's similar to the Digitech Grunge, then it's yucky IMO. Then again, the Grunge was the first pedal I've EVER bought, and that was about 8 years ago. I'd probably love it if I still had it now. /Wait, I had a DOD Grunge, is that pretty much the same thing? I'll stick with what I said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orangesix Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 I has two gain stages. what does that even mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IamBurnout Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 what does that even mean? The circuit is stacked drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orangesix Posted August 15, 2009 Members Share Posted August 15, 2009 The circuit is stacked drives. i was just teasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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